Improvement in portable fences



vfor the purpose, as seen at A b, Fig. II.

` staple,

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

ELBRIDGE GALE, OF KENDALL, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE FENCES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 36,996., dnted November 25, 1862.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELEEIDGE GALE, of the town of Kendall, in the county of Kendall and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Im- Y proved Portable Fence; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention consists in an essential modification of the ordinary wire fence, iirst, by the combination of lateral and longitudinal braces, dispensing with the use of permanent posts, and, second, by making the fence in seetions so looped or jointed together1 as to be easily folded up and removed from place to place.

I now proceed to describe the construction of this fence.

First, cut the wire into such uniform lengths as may be desired. (See Figure I.) Second, fasten two standards securely' in a horizontal position and obliquely with respect to each other upon thegronnd or upon a frame prepared The pieces of timber c d are then secured at such a distance apart as to permit the wire e to j ust lie upon the standards between them, as seen at Fig. II. rIlhese timbers serve simply to aid in bringing the Wires to a uniform position upon the standards A b. large heads are then driven into the standards a and b at such distance apart as it may be desired to place the Wire. Around each of these the wire is to be coiled, as atfff,-Fig. II. rlhen over each of these coils may be driven a If the standards a b should be made of iron, the wire could Ehe bolted to them, or they may be otherwise attached to the wood firmly in their place. the Wires to a uniform length and in an op- Spikes with posite direction at the respective ends. This may be done by bending the Wires over the rod k, secured across them at one end, Fig. III, and around the pins Z Z Z Z at the other, which pins are driven into the timber s, also firmly secured in its place. Vhen thus prepared, the length of fence is ready to be joined to others in the line, as seen in Fig. IV.

Each of the standards in' this fence answers the purpose of a post, and at the same time, by being placed obliquely in the line of the fence a b m n, Fig. IV, constitutes a longitudinal brace. For the purpose of support, these posts are given alternatly an opposite obliquity, as at ab, Fig. IV. Two lateral braces are then attached to each post, as o o p p,which may be made either of Wood or other material. These braces act not only laterally, but also, for two reasons, longitudinally: iirst, because of the oblique position of the standards a b; and, second, by having the feet ofthe braces o 0 carried along the line of the fence to or beyond a perpendicular, x, drawn through the top of the post a, the braces are made to act directly on the line of the fence, so that the braces 0 o not only act laterally, but by themselves and also in conjunction with the post a along the line of the fence toward B, while p p n act in the same manner along the line of the fence toward A. Such is the relative position of these braces and posts that they secure great strength with extreme lightness of material.

`What I claim is- A. wire fence constructed in sections with the posts set obliquely and braced, as described, the Whole constructed and arranged in the manner and for the purpose as set forth.

ELBRIDGE GALE.

\Vitnesses:

F. L. WICKHAM, JOHN Evans. 

